Soccer fans proud of U.S. Mainers enjoy World Cup run

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Some watched the games live, others taped them, but either way local soccer coaches, players and fans had a lot to be happy about as the U.S. national soccer team made its World Cup run this month.

That run ended Friday as Germany defeated the United States 1-0 in a quarterfinal. There was disappointment at the loss, but hardly discouragement given how well the team played in the first round, the single-elimination second round, and even in defeat.

Cid Dyjak, the 18-year Orono High School girls soccer coach and owner of the Absolute Soccer shop in Old Town, said he could see in the moments after Friday’s game that even in a loss the U.S. soccer program elevated itself to another level.

The mutual respect between the teams was evident after the game as U.S. and German players milled about, shaking hands, hugging and trading shirts.

“Even at the end of the game, sometimes when teams lose they get out of there quickly,” he said. “But the U.S. team, actually both teams stayed for a while. I think the Germans knew they had been through a real test.”

The United States also scored big wins over Portugal and Mexico, tied South Korea and lost to Poland in this year’s World Cup.

It was an entirely different tournament from 1998, in which the U.S. did not score a goal.

“They’ve come so far in the past eight years,” said Ed Marshall, the 22-year Madawaska High School girls soccer coach. “The boys were great.”

Ryan Jeffrey, a Bangor High School junior midfielder, tried to watch as many games as he could, including waking up early Friday morning.

The games, played in South Korea and Japan, typically were shown live on an ESPN television channel anywhere from 2:25 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.

“I probably lost a lot of sleep,” Jeffrey said.

Thanks to summer vacation, Bangor High School boys soccer coach Adam Leach got to watch the game live, too.

Germany scored its goal in the 39th minute. The United States nearly scored past German goalie Oliver Kahn in the 49th minute when a Gregg Berhalter shot bounced off Kahn and started to cross the goal line. The ball hit the left arm of German defender Torsten Friggs and bounced back to Kahn, who made the save.

Late in the second half, Tony Sanneh of the United States headed a ball wide of the net.

“The U.S. had some good chances, like the ball that went off the German player’s arm,” Leach said. “Defensively the U.S. played a great game. It’s the Germans’ size. They’re just so big.”

Leach watched every U.S. game with the exception of the match against Poland because it started at 7:30 a.m., which is school time for the Bangor High teacher.

Leach said he taped the early morning games while he was asleep, then woke up around 5 a.m. to watch before he headed to school.

The awkward hours made it hard for U.S. or World Cup fans who didn’t have access to ESPN at home.

The Vault, a Bangor coffee shop, had a small group of seven to 10 people who came in specifically to watch the World Cup games, Vault employee Kerrie Beckett said.

There was a group watching the game Friday, too.

“They seemed a little bummed out at the end, but they were excited the whole time,” said Beckett, who was working at The Vault on Friday morning.

Dyjak was excited to see the U.S. offense play with aggression.

“It was fun to see that much skill,” he said. “It was fun to see us play an attacking style.”

Marshall was impressed with the defense.

“I saw after the game that the goalie made one save on two shots,” he said. “Oh, my.”

The one negative from all of this? The U.S. team’s success might serve to weaken Major League Soccer, the top professional league in this country. Ten members of the U.S. roster also are members of Major League Soccer teams, but the feeling is players like Sanneh, DeMarcus Beasley, Pablo Mastroeni, Josh Wolff, Clint Mathis and Brian McBride have elevated themselves and could leave MLS for traditionally stronger overseas clubs.

“MLS is a professional league, but they can’t compete with the kind of money other leagues can offer,” Leach said.

“The leagues over in Europe are definitely better,” Jeffrey added. “That’s where they want to play. But [playing in Europe] will make the national team better.”

U.S. player Landon Donovan, who also emerged on the World Cup stage, signed with Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen in February 1999 when he was 16 and in high school in Redlands, Calif. After not getting into a game during two seasons with the club, Donovan was allowed by the German team to join MLS before the 2001 season, and he has flourished with the San Jose Earthquakes.

Donovan told The Associated Press recently he might return to Bayer Leverkusen, but he was trying not to think about it while at the World Cup.

It’s a situation similar to the one in Japan that drew baseball players like Ichiro Suzuki and Hideo Nomo to Major League Baseball, Leach said.